As Thunder General Manager and Executive Vice President Sam Presti began his end-of-season remarks at the Thunder ION, he took the time to thank a variety of people who helped the team on and off the floor throughout the 2021-22 year.
As he mentioned the full contingent of local media that was in front of him, in person, he also recognized the medical and COVID testing staff that was critical throughout the 2021-22 season. Though the NBA’s restrictions and precautions from earlier in the year have been lifted, it was a poignant reminder of what Oklahoma City, the Thunder and other teams and cities throughout the league have experienced over the last two years.
The Thunder’s rookies and second-year players haven’t had the chance to participate in community events the same way as those who came before them. The opportunities to get out and explore Oklahoma City itself and mingle with the salt of the Earth people who live in the state disappeared after March 11, 2020. So with the offseason ahead and what everyone hopes to be a normal season coming in the fall, Presti is looking forward to the youngest team in the league finally forging their own bonds in the city.
Those face-to-face connections aren’t the only ties the Thunder has to its state and city. In fact, ever since the organization arrived in Oklahoma City 14 seasons ago, Thunder Chariman Clay Bennett, Presti and the entire organization has sought to not just be a leader in the community, but also an inseparable reflection of its people’s values. Presti on Monday invoked the Oklahoma state motto, “Labor omnia vincit”, which means “hard work conquers all” in Latin, a phrase penned by the ancient poet, Virgil. Presti views that phrase as a creed the Thunder has and must continue to live out as well.
That lunch pail, hard hat attitude is one that Oklahomans appreciate. It’s a reflection of their own commitment to improvement and building something great, together, over time. There’s no better example of that collective commitment than the mid-1990s Metropolitan Area Projects Plan (MAPS), which Presti referenced on Monday. Presti recounted a discussion he had with former Oklahoma City mayor Ron Norick, who helped champion the original MAPS proposal, which is now on its fourth iteration of public investment in development and infrastructure in the downtown area. Norick told Presti that the crucial factor was to not allow time to be a limiting principle, and that to achieve the goal meant to be focused solely on the path, not on the clock.
Having achieved sustained success at extremely high levels in the NBA, including a span of four Western Conference Finals appearances in a six-year span, the Thunder is now on its second iteration as an organization, with young, developing players and the team establishing a new foundation.
“We're underdogs at the moment. Our players are underdogs at the moment. They know that,” said Presti. “But to me that's the beauty of Oklahoma. People here don't expect to be handed things. They don't expect to have the yellow brick road laid out for them. People here expect to work for what they get. They expect to do it together, unified. That "Labor omnia vincit" matters here, and specifically here. Maybe not all other 29 teams, but here I think it does matter.”
In the 2021-22 season, there were moments of euphoria, times of struggle and eyebrow raising plays that elicited optimism for the future. There will be more of all of those to come, but they won’t happen in a straight line. That aforementioned path will be windy.
Each of the players who dons the Thunder jersey takes pride in playing for Oklahoma City. Most of those players will spend the majority of the offseason here in this state as they try their hardest to become a part of the next high-achieving Thunder team, or at the very least propel the organization closer toward that goal. Their ability to do so can be amplified by the type of unwavering support the organization has grown accustomed to in the city over the last decade and a half.
On the Friday night of the first weekend of April, as the Thunder sent the fans off into the offseason with a final four-game home stand at Paycom Center, the organization provided an extra reminder of what each player means to the collage of an NBA contender. At the break between the first and second quarters of the Thunder’s game against the Detroit Pistons, about a dozen retired players, all of whom played in Oklahoma City – be it for a decade like Nick Collison or for one game like Steven Hill – were honored with a video tribute as they stood on a stage in the club level of the arena.
Throughout the building, as the video montage ended, there were a collection of fans who suddenly shot up out of their seats and gave a standing ovation. They had walked the path alongside those players regardless of how short or long their stays were in Oklahoma City. The understood the legacy to which they all ultimately contributed. That type of passion is what helped Paycom Center earn the moniker Loud City and the praise for being one of if not the best homecourt advantage in the NBA. The Thunder players, coaches and staff are competing with that same passion and it’s that mentality that makes being an NBA fan in Oklahoma City the most uniquely rewarding experience in the league.